Posted on 09/21/2016 1:04:18 PM PDT by luke1825
What's wrong with getting along with Russia's Vladimir Putin?
It is an idea that should be embraced, not rejected.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, an aristocrat, got along with the Soviet Union dictator Joe Stalin, a former bank robber. They had nothing in common. But they joined forces and together defeated Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany to win World War II
(Excerpt) Read more at sentinelandenterprise.com ...
Russia is king of the hill now.
However, we see what happens when Russians ignore feckless US Presidents.
“In the second op-ed Stent, who directs the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies at Georgetown University, blames Russia for failing to integrate into Euro-Atlantic and global institutions while also thwart[ing] Americas commitment to create a peaceful, rules-based post-Cold War order.”
They failed to join into the Euro Atlantic and Glbal institutions, and did not accept American rules. An amazing admission that this is the root of the new cold war.
“Russia is king of the hill now.”
A king with a GDP smaller than Italy’s, a population smaller than Pakistan’s, and a third world-style export sector (raw materials like oil, natural gas, timber and minerals) that takes a beating when commodity prices are low (e.g. oil). With an antiquated, conscript military and a brown water navy, it’s basically a world power by sufferance—much like Italy in the 1930s. And yes, it still has a good number of nukes left over from Soviet times, which it can never use under most scenarios without ensuring its own annihilation.
Why?
Has Russia’s economy exceeded the size of California’s, yet? It was getting close.
The most powerful nuclear arsenal in the world is why.
While I like the premise of the piece — based on this excerpt, anyway — FDR’s relationship to the murdering Stalin is nothing to brag about, especially when one considers how much Roosevelt gave away to the Soviets. Many people lost their freedom and many others even lost their lives.
Russia’s $1.1T GDP is below New York $1.5 and above Florida $0.9T.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.